Back online
Bus stop. London.
© Kevin T. Vu
Hey guys, well, i’m back online. i know its been a while, but i didnt have internet and then the final term of the course started so everything has been a little hectic. We have about a month left before everything is due so i’m trying to get everything together and do my edit. It’s been really frustrating talking to all the tutors. Views are so subjective that everyone says something totally different. As I keep looking at my work over and over, it turns into something that i really loved into something that becomes very lacklustre. It’s been very difficult trying to juggle everything from book design, photographing, and editing. Photography forces you to be a jack of all trades. Its not just about pushing a button. Its about a process in which there is the inception of the idea with an eventual turn into the delivery of your story to your audience, be it multimedia, book, exhibition, magazine, etc etc. And now, we have very little time to get this to all come together.
long time coming…
My London.
© Kevin T. Vu
ok, so i’ve been pretty busy. and i haven’t added anything on this blog because, mainly, i’ve moved and i havent set up the internet yet. so its been very on and off because i’m stealing the neighbor’s internet, which means i havent had a chance to upload anything. the past two weeks has consisted of settling in my new place, helping others move (NURIA!!!), and assisting. but i love my new place cause i have a front and back garden. so i’ve been pretty much bbq’ing everyday. i’ve been here by myself because mario is on holiday and jess doesnt come til sunday. but jonathan tonks has just come back from ascension island and he needed a place to stay, so he’s been keeping me company and we’ve been bbq’ing and drinking everyday. it’s good company and we’ve had a great time. since i’ve been pretty busy, i havent had a significant amount of time to work on my major project. i’ll try to put more time into it, but i’m also trying to work so i can survive the exchange rate. the dollar keeps going down. but i am working in the pound, so that’s nice. hopefully, my neighbor will have more consistent coverage of the internet so that i can keep this blog going. see ya!
John Patterson
John sitting in his council estate apartment. Elephant and Castle, London.
© Kevin T. Vu
This is one of the portraits that i’ve done for my Elephant and Castle project. I’ve worked with four families and john was one of the people that was kind enough to have me in his home. i’m still in the process of finishing everything up which will be turned in on friday.
Margaret
Margaret’s smokes and glasses. Elephant & Castle, London.
© Kevin T. Vu
I just dont understand the weather in London. I mean, its june. isn’t it supposed to be warm? i should be wearing a tshirt w/ boardshorts and sandals. it was quite warm for a while. and then, it just totally changed. supposedly, there’s some arctic wind that happened to come down or something like that. either way, its freaking cold and making it difficult for me to take pictures. its so easy in this weather to just wanna stay at home, have a cup of tea, put on some coltrane and read. but its getting close to the deadline so i dragged myself down to the ‘armpit’ of london. i went to see chris and his girlfriend natalia in the heygate. they’ve been very nice to me. they always offer me a redstripe everytime i come. and its easy to work with them because they just kind of do they’re thing while i’m doing my thing. they also invited me to a roast lunch on sunday. i’m hoping to get natalie to make some jerk chicken cause she’s jamaican and definitely knows how to jerk a chicken. i also worked w/ margaret today. she’s chris neighbor and she’s been living in the heygate since its inception. she’s irish and a talker. i went into her flat and it was like walking back in time. she had old pictures of her family everywhere. her flat had a lot of character to it and it was very visual. she has a lot of stories and can talk your ear off. it was nice to sit down with her and listen to what she had to say.
Team MAPJD
Three quarters of the MA Photojournalism course. Elephant & Castle, London.
© Rebecca Paige Green (Assisted by Tom Hunter)
We had a good workshop today on using large format cameras. Tom Hunter was very patient and helpful with us considering none of us, besides Ed, had an understanding of how large format works. We were able to enjoy the beautiful day outside taking portraits of each other and ending up with one final portrait of all of us. Unfortunately, not everybody in our course was there so some people are missing. Afterwards, Thomas and I headed over to the Heygate Estate to check it out some more and then it was off to the Royal Geographic Society to see Ian Berry speak about his photography. So it has been a real long day. And to end the night, heading home on the bus, I was able to sit right in the middle of a huge verbal assault between, at 1st, one lady, which ended up being between 8 people. I could’ve moved, but me having this sense of being a ‘photojournalist’ decided to stay seated where I was, which was right in the middle of it, to see how everything would pan out. The whole scene lasted for about 10 minutes and the driver actually had to stop the bus to warn them that we wouldn’t budge if they kept going at it. I loved it! You know that feeling when something is starting to brew and its just gonna spill over. Well, that was exactly what it was.
